vision of God in His holiness. That word holy has fallen into disrepute in some circles. It is used in slang, “holy” this and “holy” that. There seems to be no regard for sanctity. God is slapped on the back in rude and crude familiarity. To this gen eration the trivial is serious and the serious is trivial. Church members talk excitedly about a lot of TV comedians but they are bored with the pastor’s message. The subject of Christ and the holiness of God seem so remote. Men laugh at things that ought to make them weep. The word holiness, although it may not be part of some people’s vocabulary, is certainly a Bible word. I started to check the other day on holy and holiness in the concordance. I had to give up. It was overwhelm ing, with column after column of ref erences. Our Lord said that when the wedding invitations went out for the great supper, people made light of it. This is the mood today, making light of the deep things of scriptural truth. It was over in Vienna that a party of tourists was going through one of the museums where Beethoven’s piano is on display. One silly girl sat down and had the impudence to play “rock and roll” on it. The old caretaker, with a kindly smile, re marked, “You know, some years ago Paderewski came through here and saw this piano.” The girl impudently asked, “What did he play on it?” The man answered solemnly, “He played nothing. He said he wasn’t worthy to touch the piano.” There is the same disregard today for holi ness; holy days are turned into holi days. The stadiums of America are packed on Sunday while Churches close the doors Sunday nights.
I T WAS A SAD day for the kingdom of Judah when King Uzziah died. He had reigned for fifty-one years. He had been a good man who sought the Lord and was victorious in battle against Judah’s enemies. He made civic improvements, dug wells, made advances in agriculture and was the best king since Solomon. In his last days, however, he went to pieces. We read his biography in II Chronicles 26. Unfortunately, it was when he was strong that he went to pieces. This has been the story of many men since that day. He had tried to be a priest, disobeying God. He died a leper. No doubt there were those who said, “What’s the use? If he ends like that, what hope is there for the rest of us?” A preacher told me years ago, in speaking of another great man of God who had died under a cloud, “There was a time when he was my greatest inspiration. There came a day, however, when he became my greatest mourning.” The experience in Judah was hard on young Isaiah, who had put great faith in King Uzziah. Today, we are living in a time when “King Uzziah” has died. Religion is at a low ebb. Even some theologians, who should know better, say God is dead and that the church has failed. Civiliza tion is overwhelmed with anarchy. “There is no king in Israel and every man does that which is right in his own eyes.” Our beloved country is plagued with filth and vulgarity and is wallowing in moral putrefaction. We need to keep in mind that it was in the year the King Uzziah died that Isaiah saw the Lord in His glory, as the seraphims cried, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.” More than anything else today we need a 14
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